LOPEZ-VENEGAS v . JOHNSON

Reuniting Families: Historic Agreement Allows Certain

Deported Individuals to Return to U.S.

IMMIGRANTS HAVE RIGHTS

Immigrants in the United States have certain rights. One of the most fundamental of these rights is the right to see a judge before being deported from the country.

What is Voluntary Return?

“Voluntary Return” is an informal process by which an individual who has been detained by Border Patrol or ICE agrees to be immediately expelled from the United States in lieu of formal removal proceedings before an immigration judge.

The Investigation, Pt. 1

The disastrous consequences of the voluntary return regime first came to the attention of the ACLU on May 20, 2009.

Three teenaged Mexican students were on their way to school when a Border Patrol agent demanded their papers and detained them at a Border Patrol station, where agents pressured the students to sign voluntary return forms.

The Investigation, Pt. 2

The ACLU began investigating voluntary return and discovered that for years, countless families throughout Southern California have been torn apart by immigration enforcement agencies’ coercive and deceptive voluntary return practices.

As a matter of standard practice, ICE and Border Patrol have misinformed immigrants about the consequences of voluntary return and have withheld the fact that voluntary return can trigger a ten year bar against returning to the United States.

The LawsuitIn June 2013, the ACLU filed a class action lawsuit, Lopez-Venegas v. Johnson, on behalf of two Southern California immigrants’ rights organizations as well as seven individuals who the government had expelled through unfair voluntary returns.

Each individual plaintiff :

Has significant family ties in the United States

Lacks any serious criminal history

Would have had a strong claim to stay in the United States lawfully had immigration officers not misinformed or pressured them to accept voluntary return.

APPROVED ON FEBRUARY 25, 2015

UNFAIR VOLUNTARY RETURNS SHOULD NEVER

HAPPEN AGAIN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

The Settlement

Systemic Reforms

Systemic Reforms

•Immigration enforcement officers must not pressure, coerce or threaten an individual who does not wish to elect VR. o This includes refraining from providing legal advice

regarding the availability of relief from removal, the potential length of detention or the likelihood that an individual will be allowed to return to the United States is she/he elects VR.

•An individual may rescind a signed VR at any time prior to physical departure from the United States.

•Border Patrol and ICE must cease “pre-checking” the box selecting “voluntary return” on the VR form (I-826), each individual must mark and put her/his initials by her/his selection, and officers must provide each individual with a copy of the completed I-826.

Systemic Reforms

•Immigration enforcement officers must provide oral advisals regarding the following legal consequences:o The loss of opportunity to apply for certain forms of relief

available only to people who are physically present in the United States (DACA, Cancellation of Removal, etc);

o The triggering of unlawful presence bars (3-10 years); o The possibility of bond and/or release, in addition to the

possibility of detention, if VR is declined; ando The option of rescinding a VR before departing the United

States.

•The I-826 will be modified to include the advisals mentioned above.

•Notice of the advisals mention above will be posted in English and Spanish in any location where VRs are processed.

Systemic Reforms

•Border Patrol and ICE must permit individuals to use a working phone, provide them with a list of free legal service providers, allow them to call the consulate, and allow them two hours to reach a legal representative, the consulate, or a family member before deciding whether to accept voluntary return.

•Border Patrol and ICE must provide lawyers meaningful access to detained clients and must accommodate any incoming calls from attorneys or BIA accredited representatives.

•Border Patrol and ICE must create and maintain a toll free advisal hotline and provide individuals access to the hotline before offering them VR.

•Border Patrol and ICE have agreed to allow ACLU attorneys to monitor compliance with the settlement agreement for three years.

Homecoming

As a result of the settlement, all of our plaintiffs were allowed to return to the United States and their families in August 2014. They will finally have the opportunity present their case before an immigration judge.

The settlement also includes provisions that will allow some of

the hundreds of thousands of Mexican nationals who have been expelled from the United States pursuant to unlawful voluntary

returns to reunite with their families here.

Class settlement

Class Eligibility

In order to qualify for class membership, an individual must:

Have been returned to Mexico by means of “voluntary return” between June 1, 2009 and August 28, 2014;

Have been returned by Border Patrol San Diego Sector or ICE Los Angeles or San Diego Field Office;

Be in Mexico at the time of application for class membership ;

Have had a claim to remain in the United States at the time of the voluntary return.

Searching for Affected Family Members

Counties targeted:

San Diego

Imperial

Riverside

San Bernardino

Orange

Los Angeles

Ventura

Santa Barbara

San Luis Obispo

Finding Class Members

Focusing on sender communities in:

Michoacán

Guanajuato

Jalisco

Chiapas

Oaxaca

Estado de México y D.F.

Guerrero

Sinaloa

Puebla

Veracruz

Do you know a class member?

Many people have been removed to Mexico, but only some will qualify for relief under Lopez-Venegas v. Johnson.

The application period ends on December 22, 2015. It’s important for potential class member to contact the ACLU as soon as possible.

The application process:First, contact the ACLU for a free

consultation. You may reach us at 619-398-4189 (from the U.S.), 01-800-681-6917 (from Mexico), or at avd@aclusandiego.org.

The ACLU will return all calls and emails and conduct an initial consultation. If an individual passes the initial screening, the ACLU may submit an application for class membership for the individual.

Approved class members will be permitted to return to the United States and may be placed in removal proceedings.

Be Wary of Fraud

Only the ACLU and Approved Service Providers will be authorized to submit class membership applications.

The entire consultation and approval process will be free.

Know that qualifying as a class member is not the same as receiving lawful immigration status.

Questions?

About monitoring the settlement’s systemic reforms:

avd-monitoring@aclusandiego.org

For class membership application and information:

avd@aclusadiego.org, 619- 398-4189 from the U.S., or 1-800-681-6917 from Mexico.